Music To My Ears
by GenderfluidAllen
Summary: Allen Walker isn't an Exorcist. No, he's a musician working in a bar, unappreciated by the owner but popular among the people. It's pure coincidence that Lenalee and Lavi were called to the same town to investigate the disappearances of multiple individuals who were all forgotten by anyone who knew them. "He's not an Akuma, Lavi. He's just wrong."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** No, I'm not going to apologize for posting another story! I'd be working on it regardless of whether it was posted here or not. I'm terrible, I know. Throw me in the trash; it's where I belong. OTL  
It was inspired by some content I cut from No Home & No Heart.  
This story begins when Kanda and Allen would have been on the mission with Lala!

 **Disclaimer:** I own neither DGM nor any songs mentioned or used throughout the story!

* * *

The mission Komui deemed perfect for himself and Lenalee Lee proved to be an odd one. The details were scarce, but all the available information pointed to either a rogue piece of Innocence or a rapidly evolving Akuma that needed to be taken out. Regardless of the circumstances, they had been dispatched to determine the cause, root it out and put a stop to it.

The problem that this town faced had more than a few townsfolk expressing alarm. The mayor had all but begged the Black Order for their assistance in the matter because left and right, people were awaking to find that they'd lost memories of people they could only assume were important to him. Wedding documents co-signed with names they'd never heard in their lives became defunct as the person in question disappeared without a trace. Property ownership transferred to a next of kin that knew nothing of the person in question. Family portraits turned into a mess of questions revolving around the one individual that not a soul could remember.

In the last two years, it had grown from a few instances to a widespread occurrence that could no longer be ignored.

The search had the Exorcists moving to and from the local hot spots. Parks, inns, restaurants, taverns... They examined every inch of public space they could find, hoping for even a scrap of information to crop up.

"Last one..." Lavi muttered as the two of them stepped into a bar booming with life and laughter. The sound of a piano being played soared over every noise in the bar and not a single set of eyes turned from the stage when the bell attached to the door jingled to signal their arrival.

When a voice joined the melodic drone, Lavi had to admit that he couldn't blame any of them for being so entranced. Distinctly young and male, this person had a beautiful voice. Rhythmic and melancholy, soft and sweet, brisk and bright like the sun peaking out through the clouds after a mid-summer shower.

Lavi felt himself drawn to the source, pulled through the crowd as if the voice tugged on his hand and drug him in the stage's direction. The matter at hand was pushed the furthest parts of his mind, his attention stolen away by the exotic beauty sitting at the piano's keys. The teen's light hair shone beneath the bar's unnatural lighting and his pale, petite lips formed perfectly around every word that fell from them.

 _Gorgeous_ , Lavi couldn't help but think as he joined the crowd in front of the stage. He pushed past the other onlookers with a few half-hearted apologies and false smiles before finding his way to the front. He rest his elbows against the wooden stage, staring up at the angelic being who wove the lyrics around each depression of the piano keys spread out before him.

"Hidden so deep in veils of deceit, imprisoned in twisting spells," he sung, weaving a heartbreaking melody. "Are we the plaything of fiends or merely the dreams that we're telling ourselves, telling ourselves?"

How much time passed with Lavi standing there, listening to every word that slipped from those beautiful lips, he couldn't say. Somewhere along the way, he'd lost track of the time that seemed to drip by at an impossibly slow pace. It all but ground to a halt when the gray-eyed beauty turned his head and flashed his sunshine smile directly at him.

Lavi's heart nearly leapt into his throat. To see him beam like that while singing such a tragic song only served to further enchant For someone to beam like that amidst such a horrifically tragic sound should have been illegal, but it only served further enchant his audience.

"What are you doing, Lavi?"

The magic blinked out in an instant when Lavi turned and found Lenalee staring at him. She blinked her wide, amethyst eyes at him, breaking the musician's spell.

"Ah, well..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck because he couldn't exactly tell her that he was ogling the young pianist on stage who was closer to Lenalee's age than his own. He hadn't exactly advertised that his attraction included men, in part because he wasn't supposed to have it in the first place, but also because it was generally frowned upon.

"Uh, I was just thinkin'... Maybe that kid knows something?" Lavi asked, gesturing to the singer. Lenalee looked up at him, as if to gauge whether or not Lavi's suggestion was worth pursuing. "I mean, look at the crowd. These people all came to see him; it's not the first time he's played here. Pro'ly won't be the last. He might've seen something."

"It's worth a try," Lenalee said,showing off a smile with a weak glow that didn't even _rival_ the intensity of the boy's. The signer's made Lavi feel as though the moon might permanently eclipse and leave eternal daylight in its absence.

Several songs later, he departed the stage with a certain degree of modesty unexpected of someone capable of weaving such masterpieces. It was no surprise that half the crowd sought an audience with him afterward, crowding around him as he stepped off the stage. Some asked for autographs, others asked for something as simple as a touch while others still desired something as intimate as a kiss or a hug.

But this boy had grown accustomed to it, Lavi realized by the way he calmed and dispersed them with several words and gestures. As they approached, Lavi couldn't help but think the transparent smile he donned at the sight of them shouldn't belong to someone who seemed so sweet.

"Can I help you?" he asked as they stopped in front of him. Lavi could make out the slight British lilt in his voice that hadn't been present when he sang. With the multi-colored lighting of the stage no longer overhead, Lavi could see the boy's was pure white like freshly fallen snow in the dead of winter.

"Yes, we were wondering if you'd heard anything about the memory snatcher rumor," Lenalee said, bearing a smile that the boy returned in kind. Lavi was almost jealous of the nonequivalent exchange—almost.

His brows knit together as he hummed softly, drumming his fingers along the back of a nearby chair as he considered the question. "Nothing more than you have, I'm sure. People forget their loved ones, supposedly," he said before letting loose dulcet laughter that bled color into the world and turned tension into tranquility. "It all seems a bit silly, to be honest."

"I see... Thank you anyways."

No matter how much he tried to hide it, Lavi saw the subtle dip of his lips as his smile disappeared for the slightest of seconds when he expected them to turn and leave. It returned tenfold, but his false smile shone twice as fake. Lavi narrowed his one eye at the boy. He knew more than he let on, but why would he lie? Was he involved? Was he being blackmailed? _Threatened_?

"You're lying," Lavi blurted out before he could stop himself. The thoughtless words—the _accusation_ —attracted the heat of the crowd's gazes, their ire and their whispers. They chided him for even _implying_ that the young and pure boy in front of them would be capable of such a dastardly thing as a _lie_ with only their eyes.

But Lavi wasn't blind. Who better to see through fake smiles than a Bookman, even if this one was still in training?

"Lavi! Don't be rude!" Lenalee said, but Lavi flashed her a smile. It wasn't _rude_ ; it was the truth. The boy withheld what could very well be crucial information and if getting it meant being "rude", Lavi didn't mind.

The bright smile fell this time, replaced by furrowed eyebrows and lips that were almost puffed up into a deliciously adorable pout. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know anything. If I learn anything, I'll be sure to let you know."

A voice called from behind a nearby door and the boy's attention turned from them to the door behind him.

"Y-yes, I'm coming!" he said and looked back at them for a second to flash a pretty smile and give a slight bow of apology. "I'm very sorry."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he disappeared through the door behind him.

"C'mon," Lavi said as he gestured to Lenalee and started after the boy, quietly stepping through the door to follow him. He ignored the sign on it meant to ward away customers and focused on finding the boy instead.

"What are we _doing_ , Lavi?" she hissed under her breath, voice disapproving even as she followed him through the door only employees were supposed to pass through and down the subsequent hallway. He held a finger up to his lips, hushing her and watching with some amusement as her eyebrows furrowed at his choice of actions. That didn't keep him from going with him, however.

And as they reached the end of the corridor, Lavi heard something that alarmed him. The crack of skin against skin echoed off the empty walls like a cry for help that fell on deaf ears.

"You ungrateful little whelp! I took you in only because my sister was smitten with _that man_ and that unique ability of yours, now you're refusing to use it?!"

The voice was rough and thorny, grating and devoid any attachment besides the one he had with his own greed. It didn't take a genius to realize how unappreciated the white-haired boy was, that his being here stemmed his possible uses and nothing else.

"As I said, some people are more perceptive to it than others, if I—"

The sound came again and the vibration of the noise sent a chill crawling down Lavi's spine. The boy wordlessly took the assault without making a single sound.

On a nearby table, a stay glass cracked down its side. The wine sitting inside it trickled out as the yelling continued, the glass going unnoticed by all but Lavi.

"You think I care about something like that?!"

"No, but I was hoping you'd half an ounce of—"

Another slap, followed by another. Lavi winced while Lenalee covered her mouth with the palm of her hand. Shock and disgust spread through Lavi. Even though he'd seen this situation a thousand times, something about this one struck a chord in him. A kid even younger than Lenalee being used for some scheme wasn't new, yet this one in particular grated on his nerves.

"Don't talk back to me, you little—" he cut himself, raised his hand to hit the boy again and before Lavi knew it, Lenalee was running past him. She twisted away from his grasp, twirled out of his reach with a grace that no other Exorcist could match and advanced at a speed that would have made anyone's head spin until she stood at the singer's side.

Lavi watched in mute horror as the man's palm collided not with the white-haired boy's cheek, but Lenalee's.

"Who on _Earth_ —"

She spread her arms out to show her intentions, a fierce glare in her amethyst eyes that sparkled with life. "I won't let you hurt him!" she yelled, voice more clear and beautiful than Lavi would ever like to admit around her older brother.

"Who the hell are you?" the bar owner asked gruffly. He scratched his head to illustrate his confusion and Lavi could only guess his thoughts turned to how he was going to talk himself out of the situation he'd just put himself in. A smile wormed its way across Lavi's face as he stepped out from behind the wall he'd been hiding behind to join Lenalee and the boy.

"We're his friends, but ya wouldn't know that, would ya?" Lavi lied and the white-haired boy turned his eyes from Lenalee to him. Silver eyes went wide with surprise and curiosity, but Lavi tuned out the emotions in his eyes in favor of the splash of red dashed across his left cheek."Are you bleeding?"

He recoiled, covering the color with his right hand as if he'd been burned by the inquiry. "I-It's a scar!"

The stuttering brought Lenalee's attention back around to him. She swiveled around to face him, eyes wide at the insinuation that he'd been hit hard enough for the skin to break. Silver eyes darted between the two of them and his frozen guardian before a warm, concerned smile overtook Lenalee's soft features. She took his free hand and the boy visibly flinched at the touch. Lavi didn't miss it, neither did Lenalee, but it didn't stop her from leading the boy out of the bar and into the light of the setting sun.

"Come on," she said with a voice so gentle that even someone with the coldest and hardest of hearts would've listened. "We'll get you cleaned up."

He cast a glance back at the man who'd slapped him more than once. Lavi saw the pleading look in his eyes. _Save me, save me,_ it said.

But why would he look at him like that? Hadn't they saved _him_? Hadn't _Lenalee_ saved him? Something akin to fear sat in those girls and he twitched at even the slightest of sounds as they walked through the streets. The gaze of a dozen strangers sat on them as they walked. They fixed Lavi and Lenalee with looks that could kill anyone weaker.

The way the boy walked—rigid and stiff—made Lavi wondered...

What in the hell was he so anxious about?

* * *

 **A/N:** The song Allen was singing is Ashes Of Dreams. It's from the PS3/360 game NieR! Wonderful game, wonderful soundtrack!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** This chapter used to be a hell of a lot longer, but the me from May decided to write it half in Allen's point-of-view and half in Lavi's and decided to leave it for me to figure out. So I just cut it in half.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own DGM.

* * *

Fear.

What washed over him as two perfect strangers drug him away from the bar he called home for the last two years was fear. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and set his blood aflame with intense anxiety as his gaze settled on the silver lining of their uniform.

His eyes traced the cross stamped to their breasts like a trophy. It took only that one thing to tell him who—or rather, what—they were. _Exorcists_ , whispered the part of him that despised the Innocence they carried with them.

Had they figured it out? Did the Exorcists know who he was? Did they know what he had done to keep himself safe, to keep this beast living inside him under lock and key?

They couldn't have been here for but a short while, so the thought they already figured it out baffled him; it was impossible.

His former master had been here a short while ago and informed him they had nothing on him. But Cross hadn't returned to headquarters in the three years he'd been his unfortunate apprentice. Two more would hardly be a challenge.

"U-Um..."

"So what's your name?"

The redhead chose then to speak and was rude enough to cut him off, giving no hint that he cared about what Allen might've been ready to say. First impression: Obnoxious.

A lone green eye stared at him, waiting for whatever half-assed introduction he'd receive. But while they asked Allen's name, neither offered their own. Even the girl pulling him along by the hand made no attempt to assuage his confusion.

"Al... Allen," he said. The words lacked confidence and certainty, as if he were on the verge of forgetting his own identity.

Sometimes, he felt that was the case, but this was different. Allen was unused to the familiar contact. He was unused to the hand clasped around his deformed left wrist. But what made things worse wasn't the two people he traveled with, but the weighty gazes of the civilians they passed. They pointed and spoke his name under their breath.

Every time he brushed his shoulder against another's on the busy street, he visibly flinched.

All this attention because he could count the number of times he'd walked these streets for reasons beyond business on one hand.

"Nice to meet ya, Al-Allen," the redhead said, only pausing long enough so that Allen could glare at him for his blatant mockery. "I'm called Lavi and this is Lena!"

When she looked back at him, a pretty smile spread across delicate features, but it did little to lessen the pressure building in his chest. Her free hand came up to wave at him, but his own didn't move away from his face. He hid the scar on his face where the make-up had been wiped off by his guardian's assault.

"My name's Lena _lee_ , actually."

There was no heat in her correction. She wasn't offended, but the awkward silence that followed did little to make him feel better. He didn't bother to ask where they were dragging him. No, anywhere they went, the people in this town would recognize him at a glance. He knew this without a sliver of doubt.

When they finally stepped into an inn, Allen felt he could breath again. That momentary victory turned into a loss just as fast.

"Welcome back," was the gruff and lazy voice that greeted them. The impersonal greeting intended for the two guests in his establishment became something else when the bearded man turned and laid eyes on the third.

No longer did he call out to them because of an occupational obligation. When he spoke, he used a name: _Allen's_ name, to be more specific.

"Allen? What are you doing all the way over here?"

Nervous laughter rang through the air. Gray eyes somehow stayed focused on the man, instead of darting around in search of an exit. Was there no escaping the two Exorcists he was sandwiched between?

"Nothing, really!" he said. Clumsy words tumbled from his lips and the obvious lie fell flat. It was an obvious falsehood, but he barely had his mouth open to cover that up—and not make it _worse_ , he hoped—when Lavi did it _for_ him.

"We're old pals, so he tagged along to catch up!"

To Allen, it was an obvious lie, but the innkeeper didn't see through it. He nodded and went back to his duties, wishing them well and bidding Allen goodbye.

 _Help me, help me,_ _ **help me,**_ Allen wanted to beg, but his internalized request didn't reach this man. These two people were going to ruin everything. If they disappeared, more would follow up on the one thing Allen couldn't destroy: The physical documentation that two Exorcists had been sent here.

Lenalee tugged him upstairs and into a room towards the end of the hall. Once inside, it became impossible to discern which of them slept in this room, though Allen doubted it mattered.

The first thing she did was pull him towards the bed. While she gestured for him to sit down, the hands easing him down gave him few alternatives. She was quick to move away from her, going through a bag off to the side of the bed that he would wager was her own.

 _This is_ _ **her**_ _room, then,_ he realized. That thought alone made him twice as uncomfortable, but he convinced himself to stay put with the sheer force of his will. Without it, he'd do something stupid like jump out the window in a frenzied panic because he was _in a lady's room_.

He was on the verge of doing exactly that when sparkling amethyst eyes finally turned their focus back to him. When she returned, he saw the first aid kit in her hands.

Gray eyes glanced up at the only door. Lavi had blocked it, standing right in front of it like he'd already caught wind of what Allen hoped to do. He bit his lip, turned his attention back to the window next to the bed.

For most people, jumping from a second story window wouldn't be recommended. Most people didn't have the guts to jump, let alone the skill to land _without_ hurting themselves.

But Allen was not most people. He didn't need guts nor did he need skill. He was more durable than them. Fall from this height and it would hurt no more than skinning his knee.

If he were anyone else, those who saw would be suspicious. But the townsfolk would think nothing of it. Cry kidnapping and most of them would believe him not out of trust of respect, but because of the song he played. Under the spell he'd cast, they'd believe damn near anything he said. They'd listen to any command given to them.

The Exorcists, however, would know he had something to hide.

"Can I see?" Lenalee asked, voice low as if she were speaking to a child that needed to be coaxed out of hiding. He didn't need to be _coaxed_ ; he needed an opening.

He needed to escape, but every path was the wrong one.

No matter which direction he took, he'd find himself trapped by one thing or another. The Exorcists would renew their interest in him if he ran. If he didn't, he'd risk them finding out his darkest secrets. There was no way he could run without being caught.

The options he had were undesirable at best.

"I-It's a scar..." Allen tried again, trying not to look the girl in the eye. She didn't believe him. Of course not. That warm smile told him she meant no harm, but that didn't put a stop to his harsh breathing. With a damp cloth in hand, she stared at him as if she _expected_ a new answer, rather than hoped for one.

His hand slipped away from his face and revealed the red tattoo-like scar visible where the make-up had smudged. Her eyes widened subtly. "I told you... It's a scar."

Still unable to believe his claims, she touched the wet rag to his face and rubbed the remaining make-up away. The more that came into the view, the wider her eyes grew, as if unable to believe the bright red pentacle above his brow was a part of a scar.

"This... is a scar?"

Allen only nodded, knowing he would struggle too much with words if he tried to use them. He felt sick and on the verge of vomiting.

The two gazes on him did nothing to settle his now upset stomach.

"Oh my god... What happened?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Merry Christmas, guys!

 **Disclaimer:** No ownership of DGM at all. Bad things would happen to good people if I was the writer.

* * *

Gray eyes darted away from them to focus on something else. Allen didn't say a word. It was clear that he was upset by something—probably that they had seen the scar. Perhaps it wasn't wise to ask about it, in that case... He _had_ gone to extraordinary lengths to hide it from them and everyone else by wearing makeup.

But in circumstances like these, when they _needed_ information and something unusual clearly revolved around Allen, Lavi couldn't afford to let him withhold his secrets. Whatever his "unique ability" was, they needed to find out. Perhaps it was Innocence. Perhaps that was what caused people to _forget_. Or perhaps that was the work of an Akuma in search of this possible Innocence.

Lavi stepped away from the door, crossed the distance between them to get a better look at the supposed scar that appeared more like a tattoo. "Damn, that's a helluva scar," Lavi said, but gray eyes flicked past him to the door and when he tried to bolt, Lavi grabbed him around the waist. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lenalee jump up. "Calm down, Al, we're not gonna—"

Lavi was cut off by a scream the echoed off the walls. Something about the sound seemed unnatural and it wasn't the demand.

" _Let go of me!_ "

What graced his ears next didn't come from Allen. From outside the room and down the hall, he could swear he heard doors _slamming_ open. One after the other, the noises came, followed by the sounds of stomping footsteps. Lavi could feel his anxiety rising, weighing down heavily on him. His breathing quickened and he nearly jump when the door to their own room swung open.

It hit the wall behind it with a loud, resounding bang that knocked a nearby picture off the wall. Three men and two women crowded into the room, pushing into the room two at a time as if this reaction was _rehearsed_.

The first woman was barely in the door before she turned into a screeching harpy. "What are you _doing_ to him?!"

His grip on Allen slackened and that was all it took. The boy he'd thought to be scrawny and weak from his appearance pushed against him, breaking what remained of his hold and knocking him flat on his ass. The boy was gone from their sights before either could react and Lavi and Lenalee were left to be assaulted by a chorus of accusations that chastised them for an imaginary crime they'd committed.

"How _dare_ you—"

"To little Allen of all people—"

Lavi tried to explain and he heard Lenalee begin to as well, but they drown their words out with ease. These people had barged into their inn room over a single yell and begun to criticize them for something they had never happened. _We just wanted to make sure he wasn't hurt..._

They were like ants at the beck and call of their queen.

 _What on earth...?_

The few coherent thoughts he has in that moment were shut down swiftly when the innkeeper stormed into the room, pushing past his other guests as if they were little more than the dirt underneath his feet. He demanded an explanation for the ruckus and Lavi tried to give him one. They were talked over, just like before, the other guests throwing accusations around.

"These two! They were going to do... _something_ to poor Allen! Who knows what would've happened if we hadn't come when Allen yelled?!"

"Now that's not what—" Lavi cut himself off when he saw the innkeeper's expression darken. They were given no opportunity to explain, no chance to dispel this unique misunderstanding. A second later, they found all six people crowding around them, throwing their bags out the window and damn near pushing them out, too.

The innkeeper yelled down at them as they hit the ground, Lenalee with more grace than he _ever_ could have manage. "You can find somewhere else to sleep for the night!"

They were free of the small mob that had been forming the room, yet it didn't stop Lavi's eyes from opening wide at the declaration. "It's getting late, there's no way we can—"

" _I don't care!_ "

He spat the words out and slammed the window shut with such force that they both heard the glass crack. The lone, visible green eye moved away from the window to look at his friend. She offered only a small, sweet smile, the edges of which were shaky from awkward and downright _odd_ nature of their situation.

Setting off in search of a new place to stay for the night was _not_ how Lavi had expected their evening to go. People were usually very accommodating of the black priests, but everywhere they went, people turned their noses up at them. Eventually, Lavi came to realize that they were all _aware_ of their alleged transgression. Lenalee's attempt to save Allen from an abuser, and Lavi's assistance in that endeavor, had landed them without a bed to sleep on or a roof to safeguard them from whatever weather might come their way.

 _There's no way word could travel that fast,_ was his first thought. He'd brushed it off at first, but inns continued to turn down their patronage. Even the people they passed on the streets cast nasty glares at them.

"What the hell...?" Lavi muttered, sinking down to crouch on cobblestone streets as they exited the last inn in town. His hand whisked through his red hair. How was it that it seemed _everyone_ knew about what had happened? It was just like back at the inn, when everyone had swarmed them to "save" Allen.

And it wasn't as if they were no vacancies in these inns. Numerous keys had lined the wall behind the clerk of the one that just exited, but she claimed that not a one was free. They were lying. One mishap and the entire _town_ seemed to turn against them for the sake of one boy whose safety had never actually been threatened.

To say this was weird... That would be a gross understatement.

"Now what...?"

A soft hum left Lenalee's lips. She was thinking, surely, and he hoped she'd find a more fruitful solution than the one he had. Not that Lavi _had_ a plan. He had anything _but_.

When at last she spoke, the words weren't ones he'd expected. "Let's go talk to Allen," she suggested and his gaze moved back up to her. Furrowed brows and a grimace were met with a dazzling smile that told him that she wasn't joking. Sensing his confusion, she continued, "Everyone seems to know him in town. That has to be why nobody's talking to us, so our first step should be forgiveness."

Lavi couldn't say he was looking forward to that, but there was truth to her words. These people—his fans?—had heard one yell and descended on them like rabid dogs and spent the rest of the even _ousting_ them. He didn't doubt that it looked bad, but Allen's reaction was an _over_ reaction. They had done nothing to gain the ire of the townspeople.

Allen was hiding something, he knew that much, and Lenalee had likely drawn the same conclusion.

Perhaps they were a bit _too_ hopeful when they turned and head back in the opposite direction, their destination the bar they had left earlier with Allen. With the sun dipping below the horizon, the bustle of the streets died down. People either hurried home or flocked to that particular bar, like those two things were the only options that people had. Once again, they could heard the dulcet drones of the boy playing the piano, his voice drowning out every sound.

Silence had long descended upon the bar's guests, yet the minute they stepped into the door, their eyes swiveled towards them. Not even a bell announced their arrival.

He glanced at Lenalee and she met his gaze. Without saying a word, they both understood. Nothing about this situation was right. In fact, it only seemed to become more _wrong_ as things progressed, but Lavi couldn't see where the pieces lined up or _how_.

Neither of them said a word to one another, half-afraid of setting the crowd off, but Lavi's eye traced the forms of those making a point of dropping what they were previously doing to stare them down. When his gaze landed on the pianist, the accompanying lyrics slowed to a stop and his fingers were lifted from the keys. Silver eyes flickered open to meet his gaze. If Lavi described him in one word at that moment, it would be 'nervous'.

But Lavi wasn't put off by it or the obvious danger around him. "Hey, Al!"

The jovial greeting had more than a few within the crowd standing up, some chairs toppling over behind them as if a simple hello had threatened their queen ant. These people acted like wild beasts, like mere instinct drove them. They all centered around one person; he was the only reason behind their actions.

Lavi remembered when he'd first laid eyes on him. He'd felt drawn to the stage, like the lyrics were an incantation. Fingers had caressed the keys beneath them with unparalleled mastery and that had grabbed his attention, _baiting_ him to listen to the words and fall under whatever spell _these_ people were under. But Lenalee had snapped him out of it, reminded him of their mission and why they were there.

Was that what Allen had meant about people being "more perceptive" of his ability?

A smile spread across Lavi's face. It was starting to make sense.

"Hey, Lena," he whispered as they weaved through the hostile crowd, leaning closer to keep Allen's rabid fans from overhearing him. She didn't inch away, instead coming closer as her brows knit together. The vibe these people were giving off was more than _hostile_. He'd bet anything that they'd be willing to kill. "You think Allen's an Accomodator and that the piano's Innocence?"

Her eyes opened wide. "You think he's resonating with the Innocence."

It wasn't a question. She knew without being told why he thought that; he'd expected as much.

The walk to the stage felt like an eternity and when they reached it, a warm smile greeted them. It masked the pain that lie deep below the surface and Lavi was wondering if it had been quite this visible before. He opened his mouth and with that same melodic voice, asked, "Lavi, Lenalee, how can I help you?"


End file.
